The present invention relates in general to equipment and techniques for helping the visually impaired and blind, collectively referred to herein as visually handicapped individuals, and in particular to a new and useful method, apparatus and substrate which, together and separately, can be used to produce three dimensional images from initially flat images, which can thus be perceived by the visually handicapped individual, using the individual's sense of touch.
The use of touch by visually handicapped individuals is well established. For example there are currently four commonly used types of Braille text, which utilizes unique patterns of dots to designate numbers, letters, etc.
It is also known that visually handicapped individuals can perceive normal print, if it is raised and if it is generally of a size larger than 24 pt, and regular rather than bold print.
Various techniques are known for raising print on a page. These include mechanical techniques such as embossing, and the use of puffable inks and other similar techniques which are generally practiced using specialized and expensive equipment.
There is currently no mechanism, technique, equipment, substrate or apparatus, which is available that is sufficiently versatile, cheap and quick to utilize, and which would allow a visually handicapped individual to raise any image of his or her choice, including not only alphanumeric characters, but also any variety of symbols, drawings, paintings, sketches, maps, plans, layouts and any other visually perceptible two dimensional image.